'Jaan' leaves Salman...

Salman Khan’s Jaan is no more. Don’t jump to wild conclusions with this first sentence. In fact, we are talking about Meri Jaan, Sallu’s beloved doggie, which died after a prolonged illness. But being an animal does not lessen its importance. After all, salman is very fond of his pet animals- to such an extent that they keep hovering around the filmstar whenever he is at home.

But for the last few months, Salman’s friends are bidding him good bye- one by one. About six months before Meri Jaan, My son, another of salman’s pets, had met the same fate. At that time, salman was busy shooting for his film Veer at Jodhpur. Feeling lonely, Meri jaan had been ill since then. She was diagnosed in a Parrel hospital, but could not be saved. Before these two, salman had lost another of his beloved pets about one year ago.

People close to Salman khan say that the actor is very fond of his pets. He had got emotional after receiving the news of My Son’s demise. This time, he was in London, shooting for London Dreams when Meri Jaan died. No sooner he got the news, Salman headed straight back to his home and performed her last rites at his Parrel farmhouse.

In fact, he was so concerned with her illness that he was not able to concentrate in his shooting for Dus ka Dum a day earlier.

Nevertheless, Meri Jaan’s death has left me pondering over a very pertinent question- do our busy filmstars find time from their packed schedules to spend some moments with their pet animals? Are they really that much close to their dogs that their safety and health effects their work?

The question worths a pondering because Salman’s case is not a solitary one. He is not the only one who dies for his pets or treats them as any other member of the family. ‘Rangeela’ girl Urmila Matondkar owns a dog named Loko and she can do anything for him. Malaika too is a big fan of pet animals. Arbaj may feel it unfair but the reality is Malaika loves to spend time with his favourite Coco. Simi Grewal owns two female breeds of the same animal, Diva and Maria. Sizzling Bipasha Basu has world’s smallest breed of dog in her proud possession. She calls him by the name of Poshto. Bipasha says that she would do anything for Poshto. If needed she can leave all her wealth for Poshto, but the lucky animal perhaps does not need that much.

Even Hollywood stars are not too much different from our own superstars. Be it Paris Hilton or Jeniffer Anniston, Oprah Winfrey or Orlando Bloom or Will Smithy, each one of them owns dogs and will do everything for them.

Dog is the most dependable animal- we have been hearing these words since our class five days. But filmstars’ love for the animal goes beyond that- these dogs are their best friends- not because they are dependable, but because of the fact that they save them from loneliness. Being celebrities, tension and insecurity comes automatically to them in a package but these animals give them the feeling of somebody who cares for them. Its another matter that these dogs are the biggest flirts. They would follow every instruction, do what is instructed to them. No iffs and buts, no questions. Looking at it a bit differently, filmstars are always living with a fear of losing their popularity, their monetary income. They are always running, even blindly, to go as far as possible when the sun is shining. In this rat race, they often feel alone but these pets give them a feeling that everything does not end with money only. There is something which is beyond these material things. In ancient days, even the biggest of kings and despots had pets precisely for the same reason. Believe it or not, many of such pet animals died with huge properties in their names- left behind by their royal owners.

Bollywood stars dont need all this, but concern for their beloved pets allows them to keep away from the life of glycerine and make up for a while.